Babybones
by StormStar6
Summary: All Sans and Papyrus really have are each other. Raising Papyrus can be a challenge sometimes, Sans constantly having to save his brother from trouble, but he wouldn't give Papyrus away for the world. Here are some stories featuring a small Papyrus and his big brother, Sans. (An Undertale fanfic, no ships)
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is the first fanfiction I've posted on this site. I do very much hope you like it! I'm sorry if it seems rushed in any way, but I hope to become a better writer in time. I also hope that it isn't too short, and I've kept the characters in character! All feedback will be appreciated... and again, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 1- Nightmare

 _During these stories, Sans is 16, Papyrus is 7._

"SANS! SANS!"

Sans' eye sockets snapped open, greeted to the darkness of his room, and the shrilling voice of his little brother.

What time was it? It surely wasn't morning already- the pitch black surrounding the plump skeleton gave it away.

But then why was Papyrus up so early?

"P...Pap?" Sans rubbed his eye socket, "What's up?"

"...Sans..."

Sans was suddenly greeted to Papyrus's short arms being wrapped around his neck. Now the older skeleton's eyes were adjusting to the darkness, he could now see his brother's small figure, dressed in his orange pyjamas. His head was buried into Sans' chest.

He was shivering slightly, and Sans then heard him choking on a sob. He was crying too.

This shot worry right into his soul, and Sans was quick to return the hug, rubbing circles on his brother's short spine in an attempt to soothe him.

"Pap, what's wrong buddy?" the skeleton asked, concern thick in his voice.

The younger brother continued to cry, holding tightly onto his sibling like his life depended on it.

"I had a nightmare..." he whimpered, his voice muffled by Sans' pyjamas.

Sans sighed.

He couldn't help but feel extremely sorry for Papyrus. He had been having struggles to make friends at school, and it was only the day before that he had come home in tears.

The bullying was getting worse and worse too. What had started off as childish insults and giggles had become pushing with the occasional fight, although Papyrus had never fought back. He continued to see the best in his bullies, like he did with everyone.

Had this nightmare been a result of the bullying?

"What was the nightmare about?" Sans asked curiously.

Papyrus kept silent, his head remaining buried in Sans' blue pyjamas. His tears were now leaving a small patch of moisture.

Sans gently cupped Papyrus's skull in his hands and pulled up so his eyes met his.

"Papyrus, you'll feel better if you talk about it," he spoke softly, wiping a slipping tear away from his brother's cheek with a bony thumb.

Papyrus let out a raspy breath.

"It...I...I died."

Sans stayed quiet as Papyrus shuffled nervously.

"Something was chasing me. I couldn't tell what it looked like... but everything was dark, and I swear I could hear you calling me... but then I fell into the river, and...and..."

Papyrus's voice cracked.

"Nobody was there to save me!"

He began to cry again, and Sans wrapped his arm around him gently.

Inside, he felt guilty. He was never there when Papyrus was being bullied, and it hurt him to imagine his little brother being the clown of the playground that everyone laughed and picked at.

He couldn't even begin to wonder what good his brother saw in them. Anyone who so much as giggled at Papyrus, to him, was the lowest of the low.

"...Come on, buddy... It's ok. You're alive now, aren't you?" he asked comfortingly, "I'm here now. Everything's alright."

After a little while, Papyrus managed to cry himself out. Wiping his damp eyesockets, he sighed.

"I'm scared, Sans."

Sans peered at his brother again.

"Of what?"

"Going back to school."

Sans sighed again and petted the top of his brother's small skull.

"I know, Pap."

Papyrus reached for Sans' arm and grasped it.

"...Why does nobody like me, Sans? Everyone calls me an idiot...Am I an idiot?"

Sans flinched when he heard Papyrus say that. This bullying must have been extremely bad if it was making the great Papyrus doubt himself.

"NO," he shouted, maybe a bit too harsh. His sudden firm tone made Papyrus jump back slightly.

Sans, realizing this, softened his voice.

"Papyrus, you may be many things. You're the greatest skeleton ever, the best little brother even, But you are NOT an idiot. You're kind to everyone you meet! You see the good in everyone! And why those kids would want to hurt someone like you, the great Papyrus, is beyond me!"

Papyrus gave a wide grin, and wrapped his brother in an almost bone-crushing hug.

"Thanks, Sans. You're the best brother ever!"

Sans smiled.

"Besides, it's ok to have fears, bro. I used to have a fear of hurdles, but then I got **over** it."

"Saaaaans!" Papyrus groaned.

"What? That one was good!"

Sans chuckled as Papyrus hit him on the arm softly with annoyance.

"Seriously though, Papyrus. I really think I should go into that school and see someone about this. If these bullies are calling you names, and even picking fights with you, then I have to see someone about it. And I'll make sure those kids have **one bad time**."

Despite Sans' serious tone, and his eye flickering blue for a short second, Papyrus burst into laughter.

"Sans, you _are_ funny sometimes!" he giggled.

"Papyrus, I'm serious."

Papyrus's laughter died down almost in an instant, and he looked up at his brother, who was now frowning.

"...Don't worry about me, brother... I'm sure I'll be fine... I... I just have to keep trying to be friends with them! They'll want to be soon, I'm sure! I'll be popular, Sans! Just you wait and see!"

Sans pulled his brother into another big hug.

"Ok then, Pap."

"...Sans?"

"Yeah?"

"Can...Can I sleep with you for the rest of the night?"

"...Sure thing, bro."


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! People actually really liked the first chapter! Thank you guys!**

 **Well, now that I'm filled with new determination, I definitely plan to continue this story. Again, thank you guys for your kind words, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Sans flicked through the channels on the TV, his blue hoodie slung on the arm of the sofa.

He had napped through the entire morning, as usual. He'd taken a shortcut to Grillby's for lunch, and then slept through the rest of the noon, as usual.

It had become a completely regular routine for the skeleton to laze around- it wasn't like there was much to do anyway.

He was now waiting for Papyrus to come home from school.

He was praying in his mind that everyone had left him alone. It hurt him to think of what the little skeleton had to go through.

He desperately wanted to deal with the kids that had hurt him. He desperately wanted to make sure they had a bad time for treating Papyrus so badly.

But no matter how much he talked to his little brother, he'd always insist, saying that 'he could find the good in them if he kept trying.'

He wasn't going to do anything that made Papyrus unhappy, but it still made Sans wonder if he was doing the _right_ thing, allowing Papyrus to be picked on like that.

Giving up on finding anything interesting to watch, Sans switched off the TV, and slumped down on the sofa.

But within a few minutes, he was snoring.

…...

Sans opened his eye sockets, rapidly sitting up.

He had no idea how long he had been asleep, until he checked the clock on the wall.

4:00PM.

Something was wrong. Papyrus was usually home by now. Sans suddenly realized it was still extremely quiet.

His heart sank to the bottom of his non-existent stomach.

 _'Papyrus, where are you, buddy?'_ he thought, standing up.

He waited for a little while longer, hoping that Papyrus would suddenly burst through the door completely unharmed.

He didn't.

Now feeling _a lot_ more than a little worried, Sans swept his hoodie off the arm of the sofa and slinging it on, he rushed out the front door.

The snow had began to fall down in crisp, fat flakes. Sans would have guessed it was freezing too, but he couldn't tell because he didn't have skin.

The snow was piling up fast, and as Sans picked up his pace, it began crunching intensely beneath his slippers as he headed for the school.

"Papyrus!" he yelled repeatedly, sprinting like there was no tomorrow.

He ran for a few more minutes, constantly shouting his brother's name.

But nobody answered, and soon Sans became out of breath.

He bent over, trying to get his breath back. The snow was falling quicker, and the distance became hard to see.

…..

A silhouette began to appear.

Sans stood up straight, and when he noticed it, he knew immediately who it was.

"Papyrus!"

Sans rushed over to his brother as fast as he could muster and scooped his young sibling in a tight hug, letting out a huge breath of relief. His brother was safe, thank god.

However, Papyrus kept silent, and Sans saw him clutching his forehead. He began to worry again, knowing something was up.

"...Pap, are you alright? What took you so long? Why are you holding your skull like that?"

Papyrus remained quiet. This was _not_ normal.

Sans suddenly looked around, noticing how unusually intense the snowfall and wind was becoming. He knew what this meant- a blizzard was brewing.

Still holding Papyrus tight, he ran back to the house as fast as he could, not stopping. When at last he reached home, he set Papyrus down on the sofa, and inhaled the largest breath he had taken.

Papyrus still remained strangely mute. When Sans had got his breath back at last, and threw his hoodie onto the floor, he knelt down to Papyrus's level and placed a bony hand on his shoulder.

"Papyrus." 

Papyrus, for the first time, looked his brother in the eyes.

And then he burst into tears.

 _Oh god..._ Sans thought. He joined his brother on the sofa, pulling him close.

"Papyrus, please tell me what happened."

His brother continued to cry, still not answering, but his gloved hand still remained on his forehead. He hadn't taken it off from that spot since Sans found him.

Sans tried to pull it away gently, but Papyrus shook him away desperately.

"Get off Sans!" he shouted.

It certainly wasn't like Papyrus to shout, either. Especially at his brother.

"Papyrus! What. Happened?" Sans asked firmly.

Nothing.

Sans had no choice. He took his brothers hand in a very firm grasp and despite his yelling and reluctance, Sans was able to move his hand.

There was a crack. Papyrus had been hiding it. It was quite a large crack too, and it looked extremely painful.

Sans immediately knew what had happened. He felt the anger inside him boiling, and his magic resonating.

Until it filled up his entire body, and his eyesocket almost cracked with how suddenly the blue fire burst out.

"THOSE DAMN KIDS!" he yelled, his voice cold, and startling Papyrus.

"Please don't do anything, Sans! Please! I was told not to tell you!" the small skeleton pleaded.

Almost like that, the fire in Sans' socket faded, and he looked back down at his still teary-eyed brother.

"You weren't supposed to tell me?" he asked, puzzled.

Papyrus hid his eyesockets in his hands.

"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone! Those kids told me that if I told anyone about this, they'd kill me!" he cried.

Sans was shocked.

How dare they. _How dare they._

"I'm going to give them SUCH A **BAD TIME** ," Sans yelled, his eyesockets empty.

Papyrus began to cry intensely.

"Sans, no! Please! They'll kill me!" he wailed.

Sans couldn't even speak after that.

He just started shaking.

Papyrus looked up at his blank expression.

"...Sans?..."

Suddenly, Sans lunged out and dragged Papyrus into the largest hug he had given.

He was the one crying now.

He wasn't there for his brother at all. If he'd just been there when it happened, he could have been able to save him.

He felt so _guilty_.

Papyrus reached up and wiped some of his tears away.

"Sans, you're crying... Sans, please don't cry. I'm... fine!" he assured, but he certainly didn't _sound_ fine.

He wasn't fine at all.

They stayed that way for what seemed like forever, Sans crying as Papyrus held onto him, continuing to try and comfort him. It was like a complete role reversal.

"I'm sorry, Pap," was all Sans whispered.

"...Sorry? What are you sorry for? None of this is your fault. If you were there, you would have stopped it, and-"

"That's _it._ I _wasn't_ there," Sans replied.

Papyrus stayed silent for a little while longer.

"Well... there was nothing you could do. How were you to know it was going to happen?... Sans, please don't cry or feel bad... What were you supposed to do? Stay with me the entire school day? Sans... don't cry... _you're the best brother ever_."

Sans looked down at his brother after he said that, and managed to smile again.

"...Thanks, Pap. What would I do without you?"

…...

" _Oooooow!"_

"Pap, stop squirming."

Sans sat cross-legged on the sofa, trying to hold Papyrus firmly in his grip, but he continued to wiggle intensely every time Sans touched his forehead.

"Papyrus, I'm trying to heal it! I can't do that with you squirming about."

"It hurts!" was all Papyrus replied with. He certainly sounded in immense pain.

"I know... But please, just stay still... gosh, they really took a **crack** at you, didn't they?"

"Saaaaaaaaaans! You're not helping!"

"Sorry. Just trying to make you feel better!"

"How is telling me bad puns going to make me feel bet- _ooooooow_!"

Papyrus squirmed again. Sans sighed.

He hated healing Papyrus. He hadn't had to do it in years now, but everytime he had to, he had to listen to Papyrus's wails of pain. It made him feel bad that he was inflicting such pain on his brother, although he knew it was healing him at the same time. It was quite ironic, really.

Sans took a moment to let himself and Papyrus calm down. Then he softened his tone, and looked Papyrus straight in the eye again.

"Papyrus, I promise that if you let me do this, you'll feel much better. _Please_ , just stay still."

Papyrus sighed and closed his eyesockets. Sans took a deep breath, and holding Papyrus in a firm grip, he placed his hands on Papyrus's forehead once again and resonated his healing magic.

Papyrus flinched a few times, and whimpered a little, but he managed to stay put this time, and within a few minutes the magic faded. When Sans removed his hands, the crack had vanished.

"There. You're ok now, Papyrus."

Papyrus opened his eyesockets, and when he placed his own hands on his head, he grinned.

"Thank you, Sans!"

Papyrus jumped onto Sans and gave him giant hug. Sans smiled and hugged him back.

"You're welcome... anyway, tomorrow is Saturday. Any plans on what we could do tomorrow?"

"Well... we could play in the snow!"

Sans peered out the window. He had been completely correct earlier- a blizzard had indeed started. A bad one at that. But with some luck, it would have blown past by tomorrow, leaving a lot of fresh snow to play in.

He nodded.

"Sure thing, buddy."


	3. Chapter 3

**The fact that so many people have favourited and followed your fanfiction fills you with DETERMINATION.**

 **Seriously, thank you all so much! I am so happy you're enjoying my work!**

 **Well, nothing much to say about this chapter, except of course- I hope you enjoy it too.**

 **Chapter 3- A Bad Time**

Sans leaned on the front gates of the school, his arms crossed, his posture slouched. The snow fell lightly around him, a deep layer of it already on the ground and submerging his feet.

Ever since the 'incident' had occurred, he had promised to Papyrus that he would wait there from now on so he could walk home with him.

The thing that had concerned him most was that the crack on Papyrus's forehead might of just been the beginning of it. Next thing the skeleton knew, his brother could be limping home with a broken leg, or a missing hand... or worse.

Sans couldn't bare the thought of anything like that happening to his brother. He was so _innocent_. Why did those damn kids feel the need to pick on _him_ of all monsters?

Sans closed his eyes. How long had be been waiting there? A few minutes? An hour? He didn't know, but as long as he was there when Papyrus came out of that school, safe and unharmed, he didn't care.

He was tired, as was normal. He wanted to get home as soon as possible and have a huge nap, or even just watch a movie with Papyrus. Anything that involved no effort seemed appealing.

He looked around at his surroundings. There were quite a large number of monsters around him, who must have been waiting for their children also.

 _I wonder if any of these are the parents of those brats hurting Pap..._ Sans thought to himself.

His pondering was interrupted as he heard the faint sound of a bell ringing, and the next thing he knew, many small monsters were emerging from the entrance of the school.

And before he knew it, the massive crowd of noisy children had long gone, along with the rest of the adult monsters, leaving just him.

There was no Papyrus.

Where was he?

Were those children picking fights with him _inside_ the school?

Growing increasingly nervous, Sans took a quick step towards the school.

But as soon as he did, Papyrus sprinted out.

No, he wasn't just sprinting, he was _fleeing._ Sans had never seen him run so fast before.

Followed by Papyrus was a group of five other children, and they seemed to be running after _him_.

It didn't take long for Sans to figure out what was going on- Papyrus was running away from these children. Those children were his bullies.

"Sans! Help!" Papyrus yelled. He _launched_ himself behind his brother and clutched his arm.

He was shaking.

Soon after, the five children chasing him stopped right in their tracks, in front of Sans.

Just where he wanted them.

"Aww, little baby Papyrus hiding behind his daddy?" one of them teased, all of them bursting into laughter afterwards like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.

"I'm his brother, _actually,_ " Sans corrected, his voice cold and dark, "and _you_ must be the brats picking on him. I'd say 'nice to meet you', but that wouldn't be exactly true, would it?"

Sans went completely silent for a minute, looking down at the ground.

Suddenly, his eye flashed, the blue fire spilling out. He stared at the children again, his face in a wide grin.

" **Do you want to have a BAD TIME? Because if you so much as TOUCH my brother again, you won't like what will happen next."** He warned loud and coldly. It was the most terrifying sound, and there was eerie silence afterwards.

Then Sans rose his hand, and large bones arose from the ground.

The children backed away, shaking, and three of them turned and ran off, screaming.

The other two walked away slowly, obviously nervous but still glaring.

"You wait, Papyrus!"

Sans snapped at that.

The flames in his eye rose a little higher, and he began to shake, his fists clutched so tight that it hurt.

These two kids were _really_ asking for trouble. If scaring them wasn't enough...

Sans rose his hand, and the two kids were dragged up into the cold air against their will.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" one of the kids screamed in terror, the other one gasping in shock.

" **You asked for it, kids."**

Sans rose his other hand, and a large group of white bones were summoned from the ground, assembled in a square layout.

The kids were rose higher, screaming and shrieking for mercy over the course of a few minutes, before coming to a halt extremely high up.

Papyrus watched all of this in shock.

"Sans..." he whispered.

" **Ready for a bad time?!"** Sans yelled up at the airborne children, who were shaking violently in fear.

"Sans!"

Everything seemed to stop for a moment.

All Papyrus could do was shield his eyes with his gloved hands.

Sans speedily dropped his left arm back to his side, and the bullies began instantly falling at a great speed towards the bones.

Papyrus could hear their cries for help and desperate screaming. He began to shiver. He stared up at his brother and saw how _angry_ he looked.

"SANS, STOP! PLEASE!" he cried.

Sans stared at him for one second, and saw his brother was now trembling in fear.

He turned back to the falling monsters and, sighing, he stretched his left arm up again. The children stopped falling, but were now hanging right above the bones, only a few inches away from touching them.

He only cherished their wails of fear for another ten seconds, before dropping both his arms, the bones sinking back into the ground, and watching the two brats as they landed in the deep snow and scrambled away as quick as they could muster.

"I don't think they'll bother you anymore, kid," Sans declared when they were out of sight at last.

He turned back to Papyrus, only to find he was still shaking. He picked him up and began heading in the direction towards the house.

"Pap, you ok?" he asked.

Papyrus was silent for a while longer, until he stared up at his brother again.

"...Would... would you have hurt them if I didn't tell you to stop?" he asked.

Sans shrugged.

"Well, I definitely wouldn't have _killed_ them. I may have, probably, just thrown them in the bones and then taken them out after a few seconds. It wouldn't have taken _much_ HP off them. Maybe just 2 or 3? They weren't my strongest bones," Sans replied, "... did it scare you?"

Papyrus nodded. Sans gave a small laugh.

"Sorry for scaring you, kid... Anyway, I wouldn't think killing children is legal, anyway. If I killed them, I'd get into a lot of trouble. I'd be **bad to the bone**."

"Sans!" Papyrus yelled.

Sans chuckled.

"Well, let's get home. All that effort has tired me out."

"...Um... Sans?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"...Thanks for protecting me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this chapter took so long! Difficulties at school...**

 **Well, I hope this chapter makes up for it! I tried to make it as long as possible.**

 **Thanks for being patient, and I hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 4- Lost**

"Sans!"

Sans awoke with a small jolt, and for a moment, didn't know where he was. He looked around speedily, before realising he was leaning on the school gates. He'd fallen asleep waiting for Papyrus.

Still, it was nice to hear that his brother sounded happy as he bounded over to him and wrapped his small arms around his leg.

"Hey there, Pap," Sans picked his little brother up, "good day at school?"

"Yeah! I have the best news EVER!"

Sans couldn't help but grin more at his brothers joy.

"What is it? It must be bone-tastic if it made you this happy!" Sans laughed.

"That joke didn't even make sense!" Papyrus yelled, "but still, no bad jokes can ruin my mood today!"

Sans began walking back into Snowdin.

"Well, did you hear the news?"

"What news?" Papyrus looked worried, "is it bad?"

"Well, a monster got his left side cut off."

Papyrus gasped.

"What?! How?"

"Don't worry. He's al **right** now."

Snowdin was suddenly greeted to a small voice in the distance screaming in frustration.

Sans placed Papyrus down, throwing his hoodie off and dropping it on the floor, before crashing onto the sofa as Papyrus sat on him, bouncing optimistically.

"So, what's this really great news anyway?"

Papyrus looked like he could barely hold back his glee.

"Bunkins and Rootdrake invited me to go into the forest with them!" Papyrus cheered.

...Bunkins and Rootdrake? Sans recalled two of the children, Papyrus' bullies from the other day. One looked quite similar to a bunny, only standing on two legs and had a red sweater on, and the other one, indeed, had roots growing all up his body. They both looked the same age as Papyrus.

...Was he talking about them?

"...Pap, these wouldn't happen to be those brats I scared away a few days ago, are they?"

Papyrus went silent for a moment.

"...Well... yeah, they are... but they told me they'd really want me to come! Please let me go Sans!"

Sans' soul shook for a moment. They, Papyrus' bullies, wanted to go out into the woods, presumably without any adults, with his little brother, whom they had been picking on until he stepped in. Sans knew immediately- it was certain they wanted to do something to Papyrus. Something bad.

It was a possibility that they simply _were_ reformed of course, but that would have been incredibly unlikely to happen in a mere 3 days. No, the first possibility was definitely it.

He shook his head.

"No, buddy. No way."

Papyrus' joyful expression faded right away into a look of utter despair.

"Sans, please! Please, oh please? I promise I won't wonder far!" the small skeleton made an innocent little face, hoping it would sway his brother.

" **No, Papyrus!"** Sans yelled firmly. All he wanted was to keep his brother safe. If he let his brother go, who knows what those kids would do to him?!

Papyrus was taken aback by his brother's loud tone, and he yelled; **"Why?!"**

Sans growled.

"Because I don't want anyone to hurt you!"

"Can't you just give them a chance!? Maybe they've turned nice! Anyone can be a good person if they really try!" Papyrus bellowed loudly.

"Think of what they've done to you! Do you really think those brats are good people?"

"Don't call them brats!" Papyrus yelled, "Just let me go! I'll show you!"

" **NO!** " Sans shrieked, so loudly that the house shook slightly.

Papyrus fled up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door shut.

Sans was left in silence. And after a minute, he hid his face in his hands, guilt striking him.

He deeply regretted shouting at Papyrus and getting worked up like that. He still wasn't going to let Papyrus go, no way, but the last thing he wanted was to make Papyrus upset.

He thought he would leave Papyrus alone for now to give him some time to cool down, before thinking of a way he could make it up to him.

A familiar grin reappeared on his face.

Pasta for dinner. It was his brother's favourite dish. He stood up from the sofa, and walked into the kitchen.

Papyrus lay on his racecar bed, clutching one of his many action figures, still angry and fired up.

Sans didn't know anything about his classmates. What if they'd really changed? They'd left him alone for the past few days. Surely that was a sign?

If he could somehow get to the meeting in the woods without Sans knowing, maybe he could show Sans after all?

Papyrus gave a grin.

He looked at his window. Throwing his action figure on the bed, he grabbed his coat from the hook and slung it on, and with some effort, he managed to push open the glass window.

He looked back. Was it really okay to disobey brother Sans like this?

Papyrus smiled. He'd show Sans! He'd go to the meeting and become popular! And then Sans would be really proud of him, right?

The small skeleton looked down at the ground. It was snowing lightly. The ground was covered in a thick layer of snow- falling down, it would break the fall.

Papyrus stood up, and taking a nervous breath, he let go. He fell a long height, but managed to resist the urge to scream in case it would alert his brother. He landed face-first in the crisp snow, but stood up quickly and shook it off. Then, he proceeded to run. Away from the house, away from Snowdin.

Before long, he reached the woods. He weaved through the several trees. They'd definitely told him to come here, right?

After a while of searching, he looked back, only to find that the path was no longer anywhere to be found. He ran everywhere, trying to find the path, but he couldn't. He didn't even know which direction he had come from.

A twig snapped in the distance. The child gasped, and began to walk.

But then, something jumped out at him. He yelled.

But it was Bunkins.

"Glad you could make it, Papyrus," he began, "so, wanna' join us or not? We know the way back, and the others are in the clearing. Wanna help us?"

Papyrus nodded.

"Oh, yes! The great Papyrus would love to help his friends!"

Bunkins turned and began to run, Papyrus following suit. They reached a small clearing, where Rootdrake and the other three were... digging a hole.

"Oh, you're here." Was all Roodrake said.

"Yes indeed! The great Papyrus is here to help!" He struck a brave pose. The other five began to laugh. Wow, he must have been very funny! It warmed his soul. He must have been great at making friends!

He swore he saw Bunkins winking at Rootdrake, but he was suddenly tossed a shovel by another one of his peers, and began helping them to dig.

"What's this hole for, anyway?" Papyrus asked.

"Oh, that's a surprise!" Bunkins laughed.

Papyrus was filled with excitement. Were they digging up buried treasure? Were they going to bury a time capsule? His mind filled with endless possibilities, and he was so busy wondering that he began to lose track of time.

But Sans was busy. He wouldn't notice.

Sans opened up the cabinet of sauces. There were quite a lot- brown sauce, tomato with meatballs, plain tomato. Which one was Papyrus' favourite again?

Sans decided he had waited long enough. He walked upstairs and knocked his fists on his brother's bedroom door.

"Papyrus, can I come in?"

No reply. Sans rolled his eyes.

"Papyrus, come on! I'm sorry I got so mad at you, buddy... but I'm making pasta for dinner! Your favourite, right? And I wanted to know which sauce was your favourite so I can make it super good, ok?"

Still no reply. Sans sighed.

"Alright, Pap, I'm coming in. Here I come!"

Sans opened the door, and as soon as he noticed the window was open and his brother's coat was out of sight, he began to panic. He searched everywhere, under the table, under the bed, even behind the bookshelf. His brother was nowhere to be found in the room.

"Papyrus!?" he shouted desperately. He ran to the window. Fresh snow had covered up the footprints, but there was still the deep mark of Papyrus when he had fallen into the snow.

"No... please no..." Sans felt himself sweating. He knew immediately where his brother had gone.

He had gone to the meeting with the bullies.

Sans closed the window, and speeding downstairs, he put on his hoodie and ran out of the front door, heading to the forest.

The hole had finally been dug. It was a very deep hole, and it was quite dark now. Snow was falling heavy, and Papyrus wiped his sweaty forehead, admiring his, and his friend's work.

Bunkins and the others stood by him. Rootdrake placed his arm on Papyrus' back. Papyrus smiled. He was getting appreciated for his hard work! He must have been very good at being a friend!

"Well, Papyrus, would you like to know what this hole was for?" Rootdrake asked.

"Wowie, of course! I would love to find out!" the small skeleton replied joyfully.

Bunkins snapped his fingers.

The next thing Papyrus knew, he felt himself being pushed forward. He fell into the dark hole at full-force, landing at the bottom.

He was scared. No, not just scared.

Petrified.

"Um... friends?"

Bunkins laughed.

"The hole was for _you_!" He and the other four began laughing lie madmonsters, while Papyrus gasped. He had never felt so betrayed in his life.

Sans had been right.

"See you later, loser!" Rootdrake cackled, and the five began to run off out of sight.

"But... I thought we were friends!" Papyrus yelled desperately. Next thing he knew, Rootdrake had reappeared, and he threw a ball full of snow, rock and ice down at Papyrus. It hit the skeleton right on the forehead, and boy, did it _hurt_.

"Friends? With a loser like you? Ha! Not after that incident with your brother! And now, your brother won't be able to save you! Oh, don't cry, look, he's crying! Shut up you idiot. Now go jump in a hole. Oh, wait, you're already in one!"

Rootdrake laughed at his own joke, before running out of sight once again to join his friends. He left a crying Papyrus in the darkness, in the forest alone, with no light but the moonbeams to help him see.

He should have listened to Sans. And now, he was going to freeze in this hole, alone forever. His brother would be so upset.

Papyrus, shuddering, only had one option.

" **Sans!"** He screamed at the top of his lungs, " **Sans, please!** "

Sans ran into the woods.

" **SANS!"**

Sans looked all around. After a while, he didn't even know where he was going. The only option he had now...

" **PAPYRUS!** "

Papyrus heard something.

Was it... his name?

" **SANS?!"**

Sans heard something small in the distance. It sounded familiar.

He ran towards the sound, tripping on a root but heaving himself up.

" **PAPYRUS?!"**

Papyrus heard his name. He was sure of it.

" **SANS? I'M OVER HERE!"**

Sans reached a clearing.

" **PAPYRUS?!"**

"Sans!" came a voice. It was in the clearing. It was so near.

Papyrus closed his eyes. And when he opened them, Sans appeared.

"Sans!" Papyrus yelled, tears of joy dripping from his eye sockets.

Sans let out a sigh of relief. Using his magic to levitate Papyrus up, he trapped his brother in the tightest hug yet.

"Papyrus... don't... don't ever do that again..." he whispered. Papyrus held tightly to him, sobbing on his shoulder.

"Sans... I'm sorry..."

"Shh... it's ok now... I was just scared... I could have lost you..."

"...Sans?" 

"Yeah, buddy?"

"...Can we go home?"

Sans nodded, a small grin appeared on his face.

"Of course, buddy."

Sans, eventually, found the path and ran back to Snowdin.

They both ate the pasta Sans had almost forgotten about.

And Papyrus promised to never sneak out of the house again.


	5. Chapter 4- Epilouge

**Redone due to the last version, looking at it again, being too short in my eyes- sorry for any inconvenience, and I hope you enjoy this rewritten version!**

Sans sprinted back to the house as fast as his short legs could carry him. Papyrus stayed silent for the entire ride home, simply remaining curled up in his brother's grasp, no sound but the crunching of the snow beneath Sans' feet and the occasional quiet sob from his shaking brother.

At last, the familiar glow of Snowdin shone in the distance. Running back to the house and swinging open the door, Sans pranced into the familiar warmth and closing the door once again, he set Papyrus down. Papyrus looked up at him with tear-stained, guilt-ridden eye-sockets and began scuffing the floor with his small boot.

"Papyrus, wait in your room. I'll be up there in a minute," Sans ordered, panting slightly.

Papyrus turned away, and began ascending the stairs, not running like he usually did, or screaming; "How fast was I that time, Sans?" when he reached the top. He merely wiped his eyes quickly with his sleeve and disappeared into his room, shutting the door slowly behind him.

Sans sighed. He placed himself onto the sofa and threw off his hoodie, before wiggling his feet so his pink slippers dropped off into a heap.

He lay there for a while, staring out the window at the heavy downfall of snow. He began to feel tired, and closed his eye-sockets for a second.

Before remembering the pasta.

He had left it all this time. Sitting up, he dashed into the kitchen and stared at it. It had gone all cold and was now leached of any fluffiness. He heated it back up quickly with his magic- it still didn't have a great texture but it would have to do. He dumped it onto two separate plates, and poured some tomato sauce on both of them before climbing up the stairs sluggishly with both portions, and knocking the door with his foot.

"Papyrus, can I come in?"

There was silence for a second, before the faint sound of footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door. It swung open, and Papyrus stood in front. He smiled bleakly when he saw the sight of his favourite meal, until Sans placed them both on his table of action figures and sat on the racecar bed. He patted the spot next to him.

"Come on, bro."

Papyrus, rubbing his arm, obeyed his brother as he sat down next to him, keeping his head down.

"Look at me, Papyrus."

Papyrus winced at his brother's firm tone, but continuing to do as he was told, stared up at him.

Sans sighed.

"Papyrus, can you tell me exactly what happened?"

Papyrus gulped.

"W-well... Bunkins and Rootdrake were at school, and... they asked me if I wanted to go to the forest with them in the evening... so of course, I agreed. But... then I got angry at you for not letting me go, so I jumped out the window into the snow. I got lost, but Bunkins found me. He lead me to the clearing, and we dug a hole... but..." the young skeleton tired to hold back his tears, "you know..."

Sans sighed once again, but this was a heavier sigh.

"...Are you really mad at me, brother?" Papyrus asked nervously.

"...Yeah. I'm furious..." Sans let out a faint laugh, but it was very half-hearted. Turning back to his serious tone, he looked down at his brother.

"Papyrus, what you did was so dangerous... you jumped out the window, you could have broken a bone, you ran into the forest by yourself, what if you ran into something dangerous? Those brats could have done something much worse... but, I was terrified too. Do you want to know why?"

"...why?" Papyrus asked, obviously on the verge of tears.

Sans pulled him close.

"I was terrified that I could have lost you, bro. When I noticed you weren't in your room, I was so scared. More scared than I've been in a long time."

Papyrus, at last, let fresh tears run down his skull. Sobbing, he clung to his brother like it was the end of the world. Sans petted his small skull.

"I don't want you to ever do something like that again, okay?"

Papyrus nodded.

"I-I swear! I won't ever do it again!"

Sans chuckled.

"Good. You sound like you mean it."

"...Sans, am I still in trouble?" 

Sans nodded, still smiling though.

"In fact, I've thought of a perfect pun-ishment!"

"Wait, wha-"

Before Papyrus could finish his sentence, Sans grabbed him and began to tickle him like crazy. Immediately, Papyrus burst into heaps of laughter.

"S-SANS! NOOOOO! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Sans showed no mercy as he tortured his brother's ribs, but after a minute, he set Papyrus down as he panted heavily. Both of them lay down on the bed, laughing.

Sans sat up, and noticed the pasta on the table once again.

"Bro, do you want to eat dinner now? And after, I could read you a story."

Papyrus' face light up.

"Yes, please!"

* * *

It was late at night. Papyrus had been asleep for hours now, quietly snoring, snuggled in his bed.

Sans picked up his cellphone and dialled the school.

He had an idea.

After a minute, the phone was answered.

"Hello? Yeah, sorry to bother ya' at such a late time, but I'd like to inform you that Papyrus, grade 3, will no longer be attending the school... yup. Thanks a million.'

Setting down the phone, a wide grin reappeared on Sans' face.


	6. Chapter 5

**Well, before I start this chapter off, I believe an apology is in order. I haven't updated this story since MARCH, can you believe it?**

 **I am extremely sorry for the people I have kept waiting. Several people have been anticipating another chapter, and I haven't had the chance to do it. I've been EXTREMELY busy. I recently moved to a new house and have been attending a new school.**

 **Again, I apologise to those I kept waiting, and I hope you'll forgive me and enjoy this long-awaited chapter!**

 **Sorry this one is really short. ;-;**

 **Chapter 5**

"Sans! Sans!"

Sans was pulled away from his peaceful sleep to the feeling of a hand tugging at his pyjamas. Twisting around on the bed, he was greeted to his younger brother's familiar smile as he continued pulling at the blue fabric.

He could barely make anything out in the room, as it was still dark outside.

"Is it time for training, Sans?" the small skeleton asked hopefully, his small feet shifting in excitement.

Sans let out a tired moan.

"Pap, it's still dark outside, and early... go back to bed..." he mumbled sleepily, his eyesockets shutting once again as he returned to the position he was in before.

Barely after a moment, Papyrus let out a saddened "aaw..." and crawled onto the bed.

"But I'm not tired! I'm too great to be tired!"

Silence.

"Sans, are you ignoring me?" Papyrus whined. He clutched onto Sans' blue shirt once again and began tugging harder. Sans moaned, louder this time.

"Papyrus-"

"NYEH!"

The shirt slipped out of Papyrus' grasp, and stumbling backwards, he lost his footing and fell onto the floor as a loud 'thump' echoed around the room.

The older skeleton's eyes snapped open from the noise. Darting out of the bed, he rushed to the side of his brother and helped him up, brushing the dust from his orange pyjamas.

"You okay, Paps?" Sans asked, helping his brother up to his feet.

Papyrus was silent for a moment. Sans thought he may have injured himself- until the small skeleton began jumping up and down.

"You're up! Nyeh heh heh! I win! Can we go now?" Papyrus asked gleefully.

Sans, sighing, finally nodded his head in defeat. Papyrus sprinted out of the room as quickly as he could, but slipped as soon as he entered the hallway.

*CRASH*

"I'm okay!"

Sans couldn't help but chuckle.

Yes, since Papyrus no longer went to the school he once had, and there were no other ones around, Sans had taken on the challenge of teaching Papyrus himself. He didn't know much about being a good teacher, or anything of the sort, but there was one thing he did know- _magic attacks._

This is what Sans had been training Papyrus, in hope that everything he taught the small sketelton was useful, and most of all- worth it.

"Saaaans, come on!" Papyrus yelled, charging past his older brother as snow rapidly crunched beneath his boots, snapping Sans from his daze. He nearly dropped the ketchup bottle he decided to take with him.

"Careful, Paps- I don't want you slipping again. And that's _snow joke_."

" **SAAAAAAAAAANS**!"

"Oh, come on- you're smiling."

"No I'm not! Come ooon!" Papyrus whined, rushing further through the snow.

Eventually, the two brothers reached a clearing. Sans had been using this same place for a while, and the snow inside it was thick with old footprints and crushed fragments of ice.

"Come on, brother!" Papyrus shouted, charging into the centre of the clearing and sliding to a halt. Sans set his ketchup bottle down near the clearing entrance, and swiftly followed.

"So... what do you want to learn today, bro?" the older skeleton asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

His young brother could barely contain his anticipation.

"I want to learn how to do _blue attacks_!" Papyrus replied loudly, filled with excitement.

"...Blue attacks?... Papyrus, those are a bit tricky to control, y'know? I think you're too young," Sans stated.

"Aaaaaw, please? Can't I try? I've seen you do them! They look great! I've always wanted to do them! Pleeease can I try?" the small skeleton rushed, clasping his gloved hands together.

Sans continued to look down at his brother, who was staring at him with another look of desperation.

He sighed, and smiled.

"Okay, but we gotta be careful, alright?"

Papyrus jumped up.

"Okay!"

Sans was usually quite a stubborn character, and it would take a lot to get through to him. But he'd much rather see his brother happy than stand his ground this time.

"Hey, Paps. Summoning blue bones takes a lot more SOUL power than regular bones. You still sure you wanna try?"

Papyrus nodded, and ran swiftly next to his brother, observing him carefully as he strectched his hands out.

"Okay, first, you gotta summon the power from your SOUL," Sans explained. He closed his eyes, only to open them again when a blue light shone behind his white shirt.

Papyrus repated this, taking a little longer. Eventually, an orange light flickered through his clothes as his SOUL power resonated.

"Now step back," Sans ordered, both brothers taking a few treads back in unsion.

"Put your arm by your side," Sans directed, letting his right arm drop down to his hoodie. Again, Papyrus repated.

"Now... LIFT!"

Sans stretched his arm back up to the sky. A large blue bone emerged rapidly from the snow.

Papyrus did the same, a lot slower however. A tiny blue bone popped out of the crisp snow, being towered over by the larger one. They both remained for a few seconds, before snapping. Fragments of blue bone flew from the spot they had once been. They landed in the snow, still for a few seconds, then melted away without a trace.

There was silence for a bit, until the younger brother let out a loud squeal of delight.

"I DID IT! I DID IT! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus sprinted around his brother, laughing manically, then proceeded to dive into a pile of snow, giggling but panting heavily.

"I'm proud of ya, Paps!" Sans grinned, joining his brother in the snow and patting his small skull.

They rolled around in the snow for a little while, until both of them were out of breath from playing and laughing.

"C-can I try again? I... w-want to make one as big as yours!" the young skeleton panted suddenly, his eyesockets twinkling with achievement. Sans began walking towards the entrance of the clearing to grab his bottle of ketchup.

"Well, maybe when you're not as out of breath, you can try on your own-"

"Nyeh!" Papyrus jumped from the snow and closed his eyes, resonating the power from his soul again. Sans looked back.

"Paps, I said wait-"

Still out of breath, Papyrus repeated what Sans had taught him at a rapid pace. A blue bone shot from the ground, a lot bigger than the one he had made before.

Papyrus, still out of breath, struggled to focus on the bone as he breathed in speedily.

It suddenly shook, then slid towards him quickly. He gasped in fear and stumbled backwards.

"PAPYRUS-!" Sans yelled, galloping towards his brother.

But it was too late.

"OW!" Papyrus shrieked as the bone hit him and disappeared. His SOUL shook as he fell to the floor.

"Paps!" Sans reached his brother and knelt down, resting Papyrus' head on his knee.

"Oooow..." Papyrus clasped his ribcage, tears staining the corners of his eyesockets.

Sans picked his small brother up, running back towards Snowdin, leaving the ketchup bottle abandoned in the thick snow.

Sans now sat on the sofa with his brother, green swirls of healing magic leaving his hand as he pressed it onto his brother's chest. Papyrus winced, but tried not to struggle this time.

After a few minutes, Sans took his hand off his brother's ribcage. He let out a small chuckle, but his brother stayed silent.

"Are you feeling _blue_ , Papyrus?"

"Saaaans..." Papyrus moaned, although with not quite as much enthusiasm as he would say it with usually.

Sans sighed.

"Paps," he began, more serious, "please be careful with your magic. You need to be ready for the stuff you try, and... y'know, not breathless."

Papyrus rubbed his shoulder.

"Sorry..."

"Don't be, just be more careful, alright?"

Papyrus smiled.

"Okay."

"...I did teach you that blue attacks hurt when you move, right?"

The younger brother nodded.

"Did you panic?" Sans asked.

Papyrus stood up quickly.

"Panic? No! I'm too great to panic! I'm fearless! And I did the blue attack! I did it!" he was overtaken with excitment again, and jumped up and down a little. Sans laughed.

"Yup. You did."

Papyrus slowly stopped jumping, and suddenly looked at Sans with compassion in his eyes.

"...Sans?"

"Yeah, bro?" the plump skeleton asked.

His brother wrapped his arms around him.

"Thanks for believing in me."


	7. Chapter 6- Ending

**Hello everyone!**

 **So, it's been a while since I've touched this story, hasn't it?... Nearly 1.5 years ago actually. ^^;**

 **This will most likely stay as the only Undertale fanfic from me. Although I do still like the game, I've lost interest in the fandom. I never did give this a conclusion, so here it is. Sorry that its so short- and if the characters are somewhat OOC. It's been a while since I've wrote for them and I didn't really know how to properly end this.**

 **From the bottom of my heart, I'd like to thank everyone who has followed, faved and reviewed this story. The positive feedback from so many people ha** **s been unbelievably inspiring for me, and has encouraged me to continue writing even to this day. Thank you all so much!**

 **I hope you've all enjoyed this story. Thank you for reading!**

* * *

Sans was slumped down, gazing up at the stars as his legs dangled off the edge of the mountain.

The very fact that he could stare up at the stars now- even after a few months of being on the surface- amazed him. _The real stars._

They looked so vivid, beautiful... _real_ , compared to those old stones they had on the cave ceiling.

His sight flickered from one spot to the other. No matter where he looked, they were everywhere- never leaving his sight, and he loved them.

Somehow, they reminded him of old times. Back when he was a teen- caring for his little brother.

Memories flooded through his head; the countless times that he'd take him to the waterfall. Hand-in-hand, his small little brother walking alongside him as they treaded through the water. He'd crack some terrible star puns, and Papyrus would always complain.

...How times had changed. Since then, the two had grown older. New friends, jobs, _responsibilities._

Unexpectedly, a human child had fallen into the underground. The last soul they needed to reach the surface. Everyone was anticipating freedom- the entire underground was filled with hope once again.

Frisk, the human had called themselves. Sans and his brother had been two of the first to meet them- and through determination, despite all the odds... they had freed _everyone_. Humanity and monster-kind had finally come together in peace- no war necessary to everyone's relief.

The surface had been better than anyone could have imagined. Cities, beaches- and Papyrus had practically gone crazy at seeing a real racecar for the first time.

Even so, Sans and Papyrus would often visit the underground once in a while. Sans would like to stop by their old home- the one they'd lived in for all those years... Part of him missed it.

If it was late by the time they came back, they'd always stop to stargaze... sometimes to Papyrus' annoyance. He'd never been interested in stars. But they'd always been a passion for Sans. He'd dreamed of seeing them- always. Now he _finally_ could, and his soul burned with a comforting, joyful warmth whenever he saw them. The view up from the mountain made it all-the-more extraordinary.

"Sans, are you _done_ yet!?"

Sans looked back behind him. Standing there, confidently as ever, was Papyrus... But not the one from all those years ago.

The young, short- and somewhat lonely little brother he once knew had been replaced with a tall, proud one. A red scarf billowed out behind him and the costume he'd kept on for... well, Sans had lost count for how long. But, most importantly of all, he finally had the friends he'd longed for all those years ago.

He was happy.

And knowing that, along with everything else, made Sans happy too.

Through all the changes, he'd had always been there for his brother. Things were going to keep changing- hopefully continuing for the best. And no matter what, Sans would be there for his brother during those changes too.

"Sorry, bro." Sans stood up, shrugging, "I was taking a while. Guess you could say I was too star-struck to realise!"

 **"UGH, SANS- THAT WAS** _ **NOT**_ **FUNNY!"**

...But, of course, some things never changed.

 **THE END**


End file.
